Attack on Titan (coma fantasy AU)
by its-not-a-tattoo
Summary: Alternate universe where Eren is in a car crash and lands in a coma. The AOT universe itself is a coma fantasy, and this story is the rest of the characters in a real life setting.
1. Chapter 1

Levi sat by his boyfriend's bed, stroking his dark hair. He wished he could see Eren's turquoise coloured eyes again without a nurse having to pry his eyelids open. The bags under Levi's eyes grew darker and heavier the longer he went without sleep, and they were already dark and purple. He just wanted Eren to wake up, to see the glisten in his eyes again, to see his wide white smile.

Every so often, Eren would murmur something, as if he was about to wake up, but the doctor said it was the trauma of the crash, causing him to experience vivid hallucinations and dreams while in the coma. Judging from what Eren murmured in his state, he seemed to be trapped in a mental dystopia, a world where monsters reign over humans with fear and destruction. He'd said the words 'titan' and 'walls' many times, and the names of Levi and his childhood friends Mikasa, Annie and Armin, as if they were all there with him. One night, shortly after the car crash four weeks before, one of the nurses noted him calling out for his mother, Kalura, who died in the crash.

Levi spared a moment to look out upon the town of Shiganshina, where Levi and Eren and all of their friends had lived all of their lives. It was close to the main city of Trost, a few miles north. The sun was high in the summer sky, with only a few wispy clouds gently floating past the sky. He saw a silver convertible pull into the hospital lot, with three people inside. Levi stood and went to the window to watch Annie, Armin and Mikasa step out of the car. Levi was six floors up from them, but he could make them out fairly clearly; even if he couldn't see them, the almost-matching blond of Annie and Armin's hair was a dead giveaway. Levi decided to clear the place up a little; he wouldn't let anyone in to clean and insisted he do it himself.

Annie and Mikasa entered Eren's room quietly, as if Eren was simply sleeping instead of in a deep coma. A nurse followed them to check Eren's pulse and check and edit his chart. Once she'd left, Mikasa crept over to Levi and put her good arm around him, as the other hung in a bandaged sling by her chest, from the crash. Annie stayed by the door, as if she was guarding it. Annie had always been rather cool and aloof, but had the sweetest laugh. Now she stood, quiet and pained, only moving to look over at the other three in the room every so often. It often crossed Levi's mind that Annie blamed herself for the accident, because she couldn't protect Kalura. Armin, Levi and even Mikasa had tried so many times to explain that Kalura's death was not Annie's fault, that it was the way Kalura's car had been hit, but Annie had insisted it was her fault and she would never stop trying to make it up to Eren and Mikasa.

Levi's eyes drifted from Eren's comatose form to Mikasa. He couldn't imagine what she was feeling, if she'd been able to feel anything yet. This was essentially the third parent she'd lost, as her birth parents had been killed in a failed mugging when she was nine. She was raised by Kalura and Grisha as if she'd been their own daughter. Now she was dead too.

Armin pushed his blond hair behind his ear and put his phone to it. The receptionist on the other end picked up and asked Armin for his details. "Officer Armin Arlert, badge number Charlie Tango 4532" he said into the phone. "I'm calling for Officer Reiner Braun, about Kalura Yeager's husband."

"I'll patch you through, Officer Arlert."

There was a brief disconnection Armin waited through, when a husky voice answered. "Armin," he said. "What can I do for you?"

"Reiner," he said in a friendly tone, "I need a favour. All the info you have on the Yeager case."

"Armin, those are classified. I can't-"

"I didn't want to bring this up, but remember what happened in Trost. Give me the information and we're even."

Armin could hear Reiner's sharp breathing. He knew Armin would bring it up, but being reminded of someone who'd ranked beneath him in the Academy saved him from the Silver Rose killer. His face darkened on the other side of the phone. "Alright, Arlert. We don't know a lot, but there's a couple of leads to Grisha. There's a testing facility outside of the Giant Forest, a fair distance from Trost, called Tokeyano Industries. That's all we really know, nobody's been able to get in."

Armin had heard of Tokeyano. About three years ago, they'd been accused of ungodly conduct in their facilities, but the case dropped because there was no evidence. "I might check it out for you, keep you posted. This doesn't leave us, Reiner."

"Got you, Armin. Talk later." Detective Reiner Braun, Vice, hung up the phone on his junior and grit his teeth. He'd given away delicate information. Something that could have given him away, because Arlert called in a favour. He picked up the phone again and punched in a number. "Get me Bertholdt."


	2. Chapter 2

Levi had left Eren in the capable care of Mikasa and Annie while he drove home to shower and pick up some fresh clothes. He caught sight of himself in the rear-view mirror, the bags under his eyes more profound and dark than ever. For a split second, Levi wished it had been him in the coma, if only for a good night's sleep. He pulled up to his apartment, where he and Eren had lived prior to the accident, but something was slightly wrong. Levi's eyes darted quickly to the window of the apartment. After staring for a few seconds, Levi dismissed his thoughts. He got out of the car, but something in him forced him to keep his key between his fingers. He ascended the stairs to his apartment and pushed the door open quietly. The beige painted hallway with a brown kick at the top and bottom opened to him, decorated with Levi's paintings and photos of him and Eren together, some with them and Mikasa and Annie, one of Eren and Armin in school, and a couple of Levi and his friends. He approached the bedroom, where the bed lay still unmade from the day of the accident. Levi and Eren had been late for work, having been at Levi's friend Hanji's wedding the night before. Hungover, tired and groggy, they hadn't noticed the time and woke up over an hour late. Levi called in to let his boss at the art gallery know he'd be later than usual but on time for the Kume Keiichiro exhibition. Eren worked at a coffee shop to get through university, as he studied architecture. To avoid further lateness, Eren told Levi to take the car as he had plans to have lunch with Kalura, Mikasa and Annie. He'd be able to meet Mikasa and Annie at the shop, where Kalura could pick them up. They were on their way to a restaurant in Trost when the accident happened. A Range Rover had run a red light and smashed into Kalura's side of the car. Annie said she'd seen the car coming, but couldn't get her seatbelt off to protect anyone but Mikasa. The impact killed Kalura on the spot, and caused Eren to hit his head off of the window next to him, causing his coma. Mikasa broke her arm in six places and Annie, being furthest from the impact, escaped serious harm.

The room still smelled like Eren, but mostly it was a stale smell. Levi opened the window inset in the rightmost sunset orange wall. Gazing at every picture of Eren's smiling face in the hallway, he made his way to the living room, and heard the sound of a cup being placed on a saucer.

In the armchair in the middle of the beige room, sat a man wearing a tweed suit. His dark hair was long, reaching towards his shoulders, and his grey eyes looked towards Levi. The expectant smile he'd been wearing turned into a frown.

"Levi," said Doctor Grisha Yeager, his voice sounding let down. "I'm sorry, I helped myself to some tea." He took another sip of tea from the china set Levi had managed to scrape enough together to buy when he was a child. Levi balled his fist.

"What are you doing here?" Levi spat. "You disappeared, Eren, Kalura and Mikasa believed you'd been kidnapped or were missing, but I knew better. I knew you'd just abandoned them for yourself, you selfish-"

Grisha calmly raised his hand and stopped him. "Don't be so insolent, Levi. I have my reasons for having to leave, and I implore you to remain calm. I cannot tell you why I left, but you must understand that there was a genuine need for me to leave. I had to protect Kalura, Eren and Mikasa."

"You didn't do a brilliant job, now did you?"

Grisha's eyes widened slightly. "What do you mean, Levi?"

"You honestly don't know?" Levi calmed down slightly. How could Grisha not know? Kalura's death was in papers and on news websites. "Kalura's dead. She had a car accident."

Grisha dropped the cup he was holding, and it shattered against the laminate flooring, spilling Levi's tea across it.

"You're paying for the cup." Levi muttered.

"She's...dead? How can this be?" Grisha's face was wet with tears.

For a second, Levi felt genuine sympathy for the man who abandoned the love of his life, his son and daughter.

"Kalura died not knowing if you were dead or alive," Levi said, his true emotions coming through. He wanted Grisha to suffer for the pain he'd put Eren, Kalura and Mikasa through. Eren and Kalura kept up hope that he was still alive for some time, but Mikasa was hit harder by it. In her heart, she believed he was gone, and she was familiar with that type of pain.

"You made Mikasa feel as if she'd lost a third parent. I don't care what reasons you had, nothing could be worth abandoning your family the way you did."

Grisha sat silently, tears covering his face.

"Is the great genius, Dr Grisha Yeager, lost for words for the first time in his life?" Levi's voice was gaining volume.

"What about Eren?" Grisha whispered.

Levi sat on the couch across from Grisha. He was suddenly aware of how exhausted he was. "Eren's been in a coma for the past four weeks since the accident. They think he might not make it." A single tear fell from Levi's thin eyes.

Grisha's body became wracked with silent sobs. Levi looked away. Much as he viewed the man with contempt, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"I'm sorry I came," Grisha muttered between sobs. "I meant to see Eren, to pass along a message. It seems it doesn't matter much now."

"There's nothing you could say," Levi growled. "After what you've done, I don't think there's anything here for you anymore. Not from Eren, not from Mikasa."

"Can you at least tell them I'm alive, once Eren wakes up? I won't come back unless they want me to, here's a number they can call if they think they could forgive me."

Levi glanced at the card with Grisha's number. "Fine. But don't expect me to put it lightly."

Grisha stood from the armchair he sat on, thanked Levi and gave him the money for the cup. He gave Levi treble the cup's worth, but Levi wasn't going to complain.

"One more thing, Levi," Grisha said, slightly breathless from crying, "could you ask your friend Armin to cease his efforts to search for me? I'm afraid he could be in danger if he continues."

"What? What danger? What are you involved in, Yeager?" Levi's anger increased with the volume of his voice. "If this puts Eren, Mikasa or any of us in any danger, I will hunt you down and kill you myself."

Grisha bowed his head to Levi and left.

Levi lay on the couch and fell asleep almost instantly.


End file.
